International ‘We are ready for a war’: Somalia threatens conflict with Ethiopia over breakaway region

[N13]

"Little" wars seem to be breaking out or rumors of them.

I remember a few weeks ago hearing about problems with Armenia and somebody on their border. Then there was something brewing in Serbia. Venezuela wants to take land from its neighbor.

China will take Taiwan in the next few months or sooner. Has to be prior to the election. Biden has been ordered to stand down. And he will. Or else.

Biden says that the US does not support Taiwan independence.

Surprise surprise.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Leader of Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland says deal with Ethiopia will allow it to build a naval base​

BY OMAR FARUK
Updated 4:12 PM BRT, January 26, 2024

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The president of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has said his government will press ahead with an agreement signed earlier this month with landlocked Ethiopia to give it access to the sea by way of Somaliland’s coastline.

The deal has been condemned by regional and international groups, as well as Western countries, which say it interferes with Somalia’s territorial integrity and is causing tensions that could threaten stability in the Horn of Africa region.

Somalia has also protested the deal as a threat to its sovereignty by Somaliland, a region strategically located along the Gulf of Aden that broke away from Somalia in 1991 as the country collapsed into warlord-led conflict. Somaliland has not been internationally recognized.

Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi Abdi gave more details about the memorandum of understanding he signed on Jan. 1 with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in an interview with Somaliland National Television on Wednesday.

Ethiopia, Abdi said, is seeking to lease a segment of the coastline for a naval base — and not for commercial activities as previously thought. In exchange for leasing a 20 kilometer- (12.4 mile-) stretch of Somaliland’s coastline, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent state.

Ethiopia will still be able to conduct its import and export activities through the port of Berbera, the largest in Somaliland. Berbera is not part of the coastline stretch planned for the lease.

With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. It lost its access to the sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993. Since then, Ethiopia has been using the port in neighboring Djibouti for most of its imports and exports.

Somalia has protested vehemently against the agreement that would grant Ethiopia access to the strategically important Gulf of Aden and beyond that, to the Red Sea.

Somaliland’s citizens are divided over the deal, with some seeing potential economic benefits while others fear compromising their sovereignty. The breakaway region’s defense minister, Abdiqani Mohamud Ateye, resigned over the deal.

Earlier this month, a meeting of officials from the African Union, European Union and United States reaffirmed their support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, including the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Michael Hammer, U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, said during that meeting that the U.S. is particularly concerned that tensions over the deal could undermine international-backed efforts to combat al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia.

Matt Bryden, a strategic consultant at Sahan Research, a think tank based in Kenya, said several diverse actors in the region could unite against the agreement — including Egypt, Eritrea and even the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants — and oppose a more powerful role of Ethiopia.

“Eritrea is likely to be deeply concerned, given its deteriorating relationship with Ethiopia and its long Red Sea coastline,” Bryden said.

Egypt, embroiled in a dispute with Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam that Cairo says could hamper its share of the Nile River water, could also oppose the project, he added.

https://apnews.com/article/somalia-somaliland-ethiopia-coast-deal-a36449a0712249a59d74ad44d09d262c

 

[herpd807]

I predict the next 10 years are going to be unstable and chalk full of conflict with the rise of China challenging American hegemony.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Somalia announces deal with Turkey to deter Ethiopia's access to sea through a breakaway region​

Somalia has announced a defense deal with Turkey that includes support for the Horn of Africa nation’s sea assets and appears aimed at deterring Ethiopia’s efforts to secure access to the sea by way of the breakaway region of Somaliland

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press
February 21, 2024

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia announced on Wednesday a defense deal with Turkey that includes support for the Horn of Africa nation's sea assets and appears aimed at deterring Ethiopia's efforts to secure access to the sea by way of the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on Jan. 1. The document has rattled Somalia, which said it's prepared to go to war over it because it considers Somaliland part of its territory. Somaliland says Ethiopia agreed to recognize its independence in return for a naval port.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre described the defense and economic deal with Turkey as “a historic day for the country,” after the council of ministers approved it.

“Somalia will have a true ally, a friend, and a brother in the international arena,” he said.

Details of that agreement have not been made public, but Somalia sees such a deal as an act of aggression, even though Somaliland has enjoyed de facto independence for three decades.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told reporters on Saturday that senior officers from Ethiopia’s military were in Somaliland “preparing the ground” for the territory’s annexation.

Ethiopia has not addressed the allegations but its Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has downplayed fear of conflict, telling lawmakers earlier this month that he had “no intention” of going to war with Somalia.

With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.

Turkey is a key player in Somalia, one of several Gulf Arab states jockeying for influence in a country on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden — a pathway to the Red Sea.

Under the deal announced Wednesday, Turkey will provide training and equipment to the Somali navy so it can better safeguard its territorial waters from threats such as terrorism, piracy, and “foreign interference.”


The deal, first signed by the two countries' defence ministers on Feb. 8, will be in force for a decade, according to Somali authorities.

“For Somalia, it offers crucial support for security and development initiatives, while for Turkey, it represents an opportunity to expand its influence and deepen its engagement in Africa,” said Mohamed H. Gaas, an analyst who heads the think tank Raad Peace Research Institute in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...l-turkey-deter-ethiopias-access-sea-107410426

 

[IDGETKTFO]

Which side is least Muslim, so we know who to support

The right side.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

If this thread doesn't reach 1,000 posts it will be clear that people don't really care about Palestinians, they just hate Israel.